HISTORY!

HSPVA Jazz Program

Jazz has been a signficant part of the HSPVA instrumental music curriculum since the school’s inception in 1971. The program is internationally recognized as a successful model for the training of young jazz students.

The first director was Edward Trongone, who headed the jazz program from 1971 until 1976. In 1976, Dr. Robert Morgan was named Director of Jazz Studies and held that position until his retirement in 1999. It was during Morgan’s tenure at HSPVA that the jazz program began receiving international notice. In January 2005, Morgan was inducted into the International Association for Jazz Education Hall of Fame for his accomplishments at HSPVA and his long-held devotion to training young musicians. Dr. Woodrow Witt directed the jazz program during the 1999 -2000 school year and was followed by Warren Sneed, who has been the Director of Jazz Studies since 2000. Sneed, a graduate of HSPVA in 1978, was a member of jazz ensembles directed by both Trongone and Morgan.